Transaction Analysis: Connelly Early Gets the Call!
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Early Tuesday morning, Foul Territory TV reported that Red Sox left-hander Connelly Early would be joining the Red Sox to start in place of the injured Dustin May on Tuesday night in Sacramento. Early is currently the ninth-ranked prospect in the SoxProspects rankings, but he is set to rise, likely up to sixth, in our next rankings update in a couple weeks. This promotion culminates a very impressive year from Early, who impressed in both Portland and Worcester and is coming off arguably his best start of the season on September 2, when he threw 6 innings, allowing 3 hits and 1 run while striking out 10 and walking none.
Below is a full scouting report with what to expect heading into Early's major league debut. For a more detailed breakdown, check out the last two episodes of the SoxProspects Podcast from August 11 and August 24, and video from his outings on 8/8/25 and 8/21/25.
How acquired: 2023 Draft, 5th round, 151st overall
Bonus: $408,500
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 195 pounds
2025 season (21 games between Portland and Worcester): 100.1 IP, 2.60 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 31.9% K, 9.7% BB.
Physical Description: Tall, athletic frame with some remaining projection. Long limbs, has room to add muscle. Quick feet.
Mechanics: Throws from a low three-quarters arm slot. Starts on the first-base side of the rubber. Some effort in delivery, but repeats it well. High leg kick. Long swing back and arm is quick coming forward. Low release height. Consistent release point. Lands balanced and on-line to the plate. Plus extension. Very good pickoff move to first base.
Fastball: 92-95 mph. Tops out at 97 mph. Velocity ticked up in 2025 from the low-90s. Average life. Pitch shows more bat-missing traits as his velocity has ticked up, but still is fringy in that area. More a pitch to set up his changeup and generate weak contact. Average IVB, but has solid arm-side run and plays up due to flatter VAA and low release height. Above-average command and control profile. Potential above-average offering.
Changeup: 82-85 mph. Kick-changeup grip. Best secondary pitch. Has advanced feel and confidence in the pitch and throws very frequently to hitters on both sides of the plate. At its best, shows the ability to pull the string on it and have it fall down and out of the zone, away from righties. Throws with deceptive arm speed and has good separation from his fastball. Able to consistently throw it competitively and miss bats with it. Potential plus offering.
Slider: 84-87 mph. Short cut-slider with horizontal break. Solid feel, able to land in the zone. Not a major bat-missing pitch, but rather is designed to generate weak contact and get ahead in the count. Potential fringe-average offering.
Curveball: 78-81 mph. Thrown with 1-to-7 break and is more vertical than horizontal. Will get over it and snap some good ones off, but others are loose and roll to the plate. Effective in sequence and will show solid bat-missing ability when he can land it competitively. Potential average offering.
Sweeper: 80-83 mph. Long, horizontal break. Was a work in progress in 2024, but got better as the season went on and development of the pitch was an area of focus during the 2024-25 offseason. Thrown primarily to left-handed hitters. Will flash bat-missing ability, but needs to find more consistency with the pitch, as there will be outings where he struggles to land it in the zone. Potential fringe-average offering.
Career Notes: Attended Army for his first two seasons, where his team won back-to-back Patriot League titles. In 2022, was First Team All-Patriot League and voted Patriot League Pitcher of the Year. Put on 30 pounds the summer before transferring to Virginia after West Point and focusing on training for baseball. Third team All-ACC in 2023. Got the start in the 2025 Spring Breakout game.
Summation: Potential fourth/fifth starter. Ceiling of a quality third starter. Durable and has solid pitchability with a wide-ranging arsenal. Changeup is a legit, MLB-quality out-pitch. Combines that with four other pitches that he can throw for strikes and project as fringe-average to above-average. Increased fastball velocity raises ceiling of that pitch and gives him a solid compliment to his changeup. Still need to show he can hold velocity gains deep into starts and continue to develop his breaking balls, as his slider, curveball and sweeper all flash potential but can be inconsistent. Two variations of curveball show more bat-missing ability, but slider has more utility at this stage in his career. Has the athleticism and strike-throwing ability teams look for in starting pitching prospects. Higher-floor, lower-ceiling profile.
Photo Credit: Connelly Early by Kelly O'Connor
Ian Cundall is Director of Scouting for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter/X @IanCundall and on Bluesky @iancundall.bsky.social.